I will use a review or feedback from friends who's ears I know well to put something on my must audition list. Feedback from a few friends about teh Sub 3's in convo's yesterday is that the Sub 3 is a MUST audition.
Even for those of us with full range systems already, the Sub 3 will free up even more of the headroom space on an amp. It will smooth out even more your in room bass response (the EQ is kind of magic like this and unlike a digital EQ, you don't hear the analog one that Richard has designed. As with all Vandersteen products, he's all about getting more than your money's worth and he hit this one out of the park according to folks I know who listened.
For me, it's on my MUST audition as soon as I'm able to. I have a feeling that these will do more for my system than spending another 5k on the speakers themselves. I'll hear for myself once that times comes, but it's on the radar as throwing down the gauntlet in the 5k and under category from the sounds of it. Happy Listening.